steelers_browns

The Browns were part of the first Monday Night Football telecast in 1970. And after they had defeated Joe Namath and the New York Jets, they never should have been allowed to occupy prime time air since. Their most recent such foray resulted in an embarrassing loss to the Ravens with their best player suffering a neck injury after the game had already been decided. Now the Browns (1-11) will play another divisional game, this time against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) in the NFL Network’s Thursday night game. And if you don’t have the NFL Network, this may be the first time to consider yourself grateful.

I honestly don’t understand why or how anyone could point to these Browns games–even if they are against touted divisional rivals–and say, “Oh, these two teams would make great TV.” They don’t make great TV. Their games have been boring and uncompetitive. The Browns have maybe one superstar to watch in Joshua Cribbs, who has been as un-superstar-ish as one could be since the team dealt Braylon Edwards to the Jets. And their uniforms are ugly. Unless you’re delivering packages out of a truck, brown pants are always a bad idea.

The Steelers, conversely, are still fighting for a wild card spot in the AFC with four games to go. They’ve become a midwestern version of the Dallas Cowboys, a bandwagon-friendly club whose lesser-known players are gaining attention from casual fans. They’ve had perennial success, and most fans have an opinion about that team either way. They should be on TV all the time. That have that presence, and it’s that presence that will make this game tolerable for anyone forced to watch it. img.